If the French noblesse had been capable of playing cricket with their peasants, their chateaux would never have been burnt. - G M Trevelyan

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Happy Idiot

A positive and negative from yesterdays victory over the 'mighty mighty Bangladesh' -

Positive - Eion Morgan's innings, which was the best English ODI effort I've seen since Paul Collingwood in Australia on the 2006/2007 'tour that never gets mentioned'.

Negative - Bob Willis's commentary. I know I've banged on about this before but, seriously, it almost made the broadcast unwatchable. At times it was like watching the game with an eight year old schoolgirl, but one with a whole series of petty vendettas she wants to carry out against most of the England side.

The sound of relish, approaching jubilation, in his voice when Broad spilled the skyer off of Collingwood was astonishing (this from someone who was a veritable carthorse in the field during his career) as was the similar reaction when Wright, Swann and Bresnan got themselves out in quick succession.

It seems that his pre-ordained agenda is that England are pathetic - anything that supports that contention is treated with a strange mixture of barely disguised glee with faux outrage.

It's just a shame that the slight time delay means you can't turn the sound down and listen to the radio broadcast instead, like in the good ol' days.